>> you are watching "france 24." the king of spain announces he will abdicate his throne. he said his son will replace him. francected jihadist from is arrested over the fatal shooting of a jewish medium and brussels. he spent time in syria and radicalized here in prison and france. the palestinian president swears in a unity government. it is the most significant step ending the political split that began seven years ago.

♪ also coming up for you this hour, this friday is the 70th anniversary of the storming of the normandy beaches. despite the agony of world war ii, many love stories came out of the invasion. you will meet some of the children of d-day. and the grandson of an underwater legend is plunging into his grandfather's footsteps. toien cousteau is hoping break the record for time spent underwater. first, the king of spain says he will abdicate the throne after almost 40 years in power. king juan carlos will be succeeded by his son, prince phillippe. that announcement was made.

is stepping down for political reasons, not health reasons. smooth the helped to transition to democracy in the 19th century after the franco dictatorship. he has lost some public support in recent years due to gas and corruption scandals. for more, let's bring in phil, in madrid. we're waiting now, just momentarily, for some word from the king himself. what do we think he might say about the reasons behind his abdication? >> the prime minister was saying he was advocating for political reasons, rather than health reasons. the king has been in declining health over recent years. he has had a number of problems. one of the reasons his popularity has been declining is because he groped a -- broke a hip. >> we're listening to an audio message now from the king.

let's listen. [no audio] >> sorry about that. seems to not have started. it continue. his popularity has been declining slightly in recent years, owing to the fact that in 2012, he actually went on a very lavish hunting trip to botswana. the outcry was not over the fact that he was hunting, but over the fact that he was spending houses of euros on these trips. it was a time when the rest of spain was going through an economic crisis. on that trip, which emphasized the issues, he broke a hip. he has had numerous health issues since. the reason for his application is political. we are actually waiting for him to explain and expand upon the.

it will not be a popular takeover. the crown prince is actually the most popular member of the royal family. he has the highest approval rating. he has been seen much more over recent years, taking a much greater role in ceremonial occasions, big state occasions. representing the royal family at overseas events. consequently, we will hopefully see a smooth transition. we will inevitably get calls for some sort of popular wrote on this. persuasion is turning to being a republic, as it once was. what we're seeing here is the fact that he wants a smooth transition. he probably has looked at the way there has been a handover of power elsewhere in europe. that may be the reason behind his choice. >> let's jump in now.

let's listen to king juan carlos i of spain. ago, i signedears a commitment to serve the interests of spain. decisions thee stakeholders of their own country. country into a modern democracy, freely integrated into europe. undertake theto important national task to enable citizens to choose legitimate representatives. after this great transformation of spain, which we needed to do today, when i look back, i feel pride. i feel proud for what i did and grateful to you. i am grateful to you for everything we have been able to do over the years. i'm grateful to you for the support you have given me to

accomplish my task. i was very young when i became king and the situation was very difficult. then, we enjoyed peace, liberty, and progress. my father'sloyal to word, the count of barcelona. to want to be the king of all spanish citizens. i have been inspired by him. i have benefited from and enjoyed your success. i have suffered from the difficulties facing you. the grave economic crisis, which we have experienced, has had a very adverse affect on the social fabric. now we must looks to the future with hope. the difficult years have enabled us to find a balance. weike a balance between what

can do and what we cannot do. and, we have strength and our pride. the pride in what we have done. and what remains to be done. we are a great nation. for of this, has called innovation, renovation, and correction of mistakes. i want to open a way to a better future for my country. and i think a new generation is now ready to take over. and to run the country. they are right to want to do so. we are at a crucial moment. the time has come to exercise a change, to organize a change of generation. and, now we must give way to a younger generation, who are determined to undertake reforms

which are necessary in current circumstances, in order to face the challenges of the future. with the required courage which we must mobilize. only ambition has been to contribute to progress and the well-being and freedom of all spanish citizens. i was spain the best possible future. i have dedicated my life and -- to my country. all my capabilities, all my skills, all my energies, make me feel confident that phillippe as a successor will ensure the stability which is necessary for the spanish monarchy. i realized my time had come to prepare the succession, in order to make it possible for those to take over in the best possible conditions.

the prince has been trained, has been prepared. he has a great sense of responsibility. he has all the qualities necessary to take over the throne and to open a new era of hope and he has experience. he will represent a new generation. i think for us all -- he will also be supported by another prince. for all these reasons, having done my best to serve the spanish people and having recovered physically, i have decided to put an end to this commitment and to hand the crown over to my successor and to abdicate, in order to allow the parliament and the prime minister to initiate the constitutional process for my

succession. this is what i told the president and government this morning. i would like to address my gratitude to the spanish people, and to all those who have been in authority and represent the state during my reign. and you have helped me generously and loyally to do my job. queen,so grateful to the who has generously supported me through thick and thin. spainwill, of course, will always be close to my heart. >> we were just listening to one carlos, the king of spain, officially announcing that he does indeed plan to abdicate. we were listening and to that. phil, what are your thoughts on what one carlos had to say? >> is very interesting that he did not discuss any solid reasons for his abdication. mentioned several times about

handing over to a younger generation. and it over to a new generation. he did expand on the qualities of crown prince phillippe. morenk there's going to be coming out of the royal household in the coming days about some of the background. he did reflect very strongly on his nearly 40 years of service to spain, talking a little bit about the difficult times that spain is going through at the moment. i really do not think he did actually answer a lot of questions in that particular speech about why he has chosen this particular moment and his recent or handing over to conference -- crown prince phillippe, although he is seen as a safe pair of hands and has been seeing more and more involved at the head of the royal family. been involved that ceremonial occasions and representing the family abroad and at home. >> very briefly, let's look

forward here now. what kind of king might he be? >>well, one carlos has modernized the spanish monarch y. i think that will be a trend that will continue. he will be very influential in social matters. of course, he has married a divorcee. that will change their society and culture. they'll be the first time the di consul.as been a politics, he will probably stand to one side, probably not wanting to be in the policy of the spanish government. whether that is a left or right side of government. >> thank you so much for that. president has sworn in a unity government after overcoming a last-minute dispute

with hamas. they took the oath of office in a televised ceremony in ramallah. they have said that those ministers will be politically unaffiliated. this is a major step toward ending a seven-year rift between hamas and fatah. sammy is covering the story. what can you tell us about what they said? the swearing in of the government, abbas gave a speech to the nation, in which he was saying that these dark days of division are over. he was telling the palestinian people that he will lead them to a palestinian state that will live side-by-side with israel. he gave a strong message to the international community that the current government is committed to allpeace agreement, these conditions that were set

up on the government in the past, and that they will also be willing to negotiate with israel. the addenda of this government is the agenda of the previous government grid also, the prime minister -- the same prime minister. the finance minister, the two deputies -- they were pushing to have the minister of prisoner affairs that will be in positions. abbas did not want to have this. there was no announcement of a minister of prisoner affairs. we see that this is the government of hamas. earlier, they were threatening, saying they would not accept this kind of a government. these conditions are not acceptable. eventually, they agreed. it is a very low point for hamas and a very strong point for h

abah, who is withstanding pressures. >> thank you for that. now, the syrian president looks to be reelection. -- reelected. it was not one ago go that he was considered almost finished. he has recaptured lost territory and consolidated his power. let's come back now to france. a top official says four people have been arrested in a jihadist recruiting network. that comes one day after police said they had arrested a french man and a jihadist two is linked to the murder of three people at a jewish museum in brussels. that suspect had spent a year in syria, learning to fight their, like hundreds of other europeans. we have more now on what measures are being taken to try to stop western born terrorists. suspected jihadist arrested

in a police raid in eastern france, along with five other men. he had just returned from syria. cases like these pose a threat to national security. these individuals have acquired fighting skills and could launch terrorist attacks on french soil. they are working closely with the problem. i meeting will be held in luxembourg later this week to improve cooperation. >> right now, as we speak, arrests are taking place in the paris region and the south of france of people suspected of helping jihadists in syria. i wanted is clear. france and europe will continue the fight against terrorism. we will not stop or compromise until victory is achieved. >> in april, france had adopted measures to tackle the issue. a website and phone number were created to report potential jihadists. cyber police have also been strengthened.

will be stripped of french nationality. western nationals -- periodiraq he and afghan was less appealing. hastings west reachable for young persons here. they are friends, they are neighbors. frenchrding to the government, 780 nationals have traveled to syria for jihad. men, but also women, who feel it is their 2-d to fight alongside the insurgents. >> let's take a look at what is been making headlines around the world. with a focus on that fatal shooting that left three dead at the jewish museum in brussels. >> we're looking at how some of the governments are responding. they are under pressure to make sure incidents like this do not

happen in the future. belgium has called for closer cooperation throughout europe. they have said the government is mobilizing to track jihadists. we spoke to a former french intelligence official. be and there must ambitious anti-terrorism reform. empowered toe monitor and take preventative actions. he did not go into detail about what those actions might the. -- be. there has to be a clear law drafted. tiesid that suspects with to jihad is a must not be allowed to slip through the cracks. the chances of a european 9/11 are in fact. real. >> those are the words of a serious expert. he says that this attack is just the beginning. peoplere some 780

thought to have left france to fight with jihadists in syria. he says they are no longer relying on the old website, but using mainstream social networks. some recruits are being trained to return to their countries in europe and become operational. >> let's move onto china. they are marking the 25th anniversary of those protests in tenement square. >> the official deaths toll was 200. says that china cloaked its bloody past -- we see the photo with the words "this did not happen." activists are being detained. there is no information anywhere on internet being censored. the chinese press did not have any mention, of course. >> some young people are not aware this happened at all. >> this came from npr.

manyas there and spoke to in beijing. out of 100 people, only 15 could identify that tank photo. when pressed, some questioned whether it was from south korea or kosovo. there is a difference in today's china. not so much of a push for pro-democracy. nationalism is ruling the day. were anti-japanese protests a few years ago. they want to wipe clean the past and direct the anger outside the country. >> a sports story is also dominating the headlines. that is about these new possiblyns that qatar bribed its way to host the world cup in 2022. >> a plot to buy the world cup. official paid $5

million, lobbying for their bid to host the world's biggest sporting event. there are millions of documents to back up these allegations. they say that he used 10 different slush funds to make dozens of payments. if we go to the daily telegraph, there is a cartoon which may sum up a lot of sentiment toward fifa and world cup now. qatar is scoring a goal while people have their backs to it. >> what kind of follow-up could there be? -- fall out could there be? >> it is too early to know. if they prove to be true, damages not only fifa, but the game itself. they have already been plagued by allegations of life and death. the stakes are very high. ge spreada two pa in the paper tracking the money trail. they flew a private jet around,

making the payments. they said he acted like the head of a crime organization. one thing to think about is the potential fallout. qatar beat out the united states in the final stage of voting. if there is a revote, this may land in the hands of the united dates. that is not what the people down under want to hear. the australians lost out on the 2022 bit. they are monitoring the investigation over the 2018 and 2022 bit. they are hoping to reapply. >> thank you for that. let's concentrate on this world cup coming up in just about a week now. that is on our sports. how france and other teams have been faring in their last minute warm-ups for the cup. >> france continues their preparations in nice. the late goal counts. win overans have a 2-1

sweden. usa conceded a late penalty, but hung on for the win. panama and serbia will both miss out, with a 1-1 draw. for a friendly match, we played a tough team that got in. things were tough right up until the end. there are good things to take from the match as well. good passages of play. we worked very hard. our legs are a bit heavy. we lacked a bit finishing, compared to the match against yonorway. we lost confidence this evening. cup scoreds world again.

three lines --looking forward to the world cup. itwithout a shadow it out, is going to be agreement. we're all very excited about it. it is the perfect sendoff, really. the crowd was quite magnificent. we are in a very positive mood. we feel positive and we will do what we can. ecuador andlays honduras in the u.s. before arriving. campaign on june 14, taking on uruguay in group c. though that joke of it continued his quest for a french open title. he defeated tsonga. roger federer failed to reach the quarterfinals after losing out to ernest goal this. raonic rallied, into the last

eight. the fifth.ber one in urray.eated m maria sharapova defeated sam stowe sir in three set. -- sam stosur in three sets. uguruza defeated parmetnintier. the french team celebrated their title. won on saturday to complete the european cup title. they were soaking up the atmosphere.

they hung out in style. the first colombian won the italian -- he claims the jersey for his first grand tour victory. sinced on in italy claiming the lead on stage 16. paul martin won the final stage -- there was a crash on the final day. the break of the day was led by -- protector protected the red jersey's lead. a sealed the stage win with

sprint victory, finishing in four hours and 14 minutes. this is the third consecutive overall belgian title. alexander krzysztof won the final stage of the tour de europe. he held an eight second lead in stage four. the cyclists gathered to the sprint.

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